Kisangani Mutinies

The Kisangani Mutinies (1966-1967) were two rebellions launched by Katangan gendarmes and European mercenaries against the government of Congo-Kinshasa in the aftermath of the Congo Crisis. The first mutiny broke out in July 1966 when 2,000 Katangan gendarmes, believing that former Prime Minister Moise Tshombe was plotting a comeback from exile in Spain, rose in rebellion against the government from Stanleyville (Kisangani). The mutiny was unsuccessful, and it was crushed. A second rebellion occurred exactly a year after the first one, with 100 former Katangan gendarmes, 1,000 rebels, and Jean Schramme's mercenaries rising up after it was reported that Tshombe had been imprisoned in Algeria after his plane was hijacked. The rebels held their ground against the 32,000-strong Congolese military for four months, and Schramme and his mercenaries crossed into Rwanda and surrendered to the local authorities, ending the second and final mutiny.